Fathers Know Best
by Jenncat
Summary: Four fathers commiserate together. Bleach and Heroes crossover.


Title: Fathers Know Best

Author: Jenncat (mindwarp on LJ)

Fandom: Bleach/Heroes crossover.

Characters: The Daddy Brigades - I mean Ishida Ryuuken, Kurosaki Isshin, Nakamura Kaito, HRG

Rating: PG/K+ (Isshin alone always raises ratings.)

Type: Gen

Spoilers: through episode 18 for Heroes (according to online commentaries, from which I'm extrapolating stuff that I might end up being totally wrong about - plus, Kaito's given name might be a spoiler, since they didn't mention it in the show), and through current chapters and episodes of the Bleach manga and anime (especially chapters 185-190/episodes 110-113 and chapter 241).

Warnings: Isshin - hey, he ALWAYS deserves a warning. He's ISSHIN, and we love him for that. Also, possible mild homophobia – or is it just denial? ;) (I lean towards the latter, but then again, I am a slash fan.)

Summary: Four fathers commiserate together.

Author's Notes: all names have the family name first, although I'm referring to most of them by their given name, so that we all know which family member is involved (except for HRG, since TPTB keep concealing that!). All dialogue is translated from Japanese, hence the honorifics and family names being used instead. For those who aren't familiar, as well as a few more definitions:

1. -san honorific for an equal, or from an inferior to a superior

2. -kun honorific for an equal between younger generations, who are more casual (example: Hiro always calls Ando "Ando-kun"), or from a superior to an inferior. It's appropriate for an adult to call a teenager that. Since Hiro is an adult, I chose -san instead when he's being talked about.

3. -sensei honorific for a teacher or a doctor.

4. reiatsu – not an honorific, but rather the term in Bleach for spiritual energy/power.

5. Hueco Mundo – in Bleach, an alternate dimension which is home to soul-devouring creatures called Hollows.

Yes, I did steal a certain line of Isshin's from Naruto, because he and Gai are soulmates, and a line of Kaito's from an interview with George Takei (remember, it rhymes with toupee) and Masi Oka. Blame the inspiration for this on how cool both sets of fathers are. Massive thanks to Dragonsinger for beta-reading this.

Disclaimers: Heroes belongs to Tim Kring and his team, as well as Viacom/NBC. Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite (who, after chapter 262, is again my god), Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot, Dentsu, Viz, and maybe Adult Swim/Cartoon Network. No claim is made on any characters or settings from either, and no harm is meant to any existing trademarks and copyrights. No money is being made from this – if I was that good, I would be begging Tim and Kubo-sensei for a job. ;)

* * *

Nakamura Kaito strode down the hall towards the entrance of the Karakura Hotel, ready to leave the small city behind and return to his hectic schedule in Tokyo. After all, he had left his company in the hands of his daughter who, while highly capable, was still a woman. He shook his head at that thought to banish it from his mind. After all, he had learned that the only alternative might be far worse. 

"Nakamura-san?" A deep, calm voice interrupted his thoughts. Kaito stopped and turned his head towards the speaker, a well-dressed man whose white hair seemed odd in contrast to his slightly younger face. The man adjusted his wire-framed glasses before continuing. "My apologies for interrupting. I am Ishida Ryuuken, head of Karakura Hospital. I found your presentation on how Yamagoto's software could aid in communicating with patients who otherwise cannot speak fascinating, and would be interested in any further information."

Kaito gave the doctor a polite smile in return. "Of course," he replied. "I believe that the conference organizers should have the contact information for our product support specialists..."

"IIIIISHIIIIDAAAAA!!!!!!!" Ryuuken staggered under the weight of a burly man who had suddenly latched onto him like a barnacle. "Why did you leave the conference like that? Weren't you going to say hi to me?" The man paused, blinking at Kaito. "Oh, Nakamura-san! Great presentation!" He let go of Ryuuken with one hand to give Kaito a thumbs-up.

"Kurosaki, get off of me. Now." Ryuuken's voice could have sliced a diamond in half.

"Ishida, if you're going to make new friends, you should tell me first! Then, you need to get out the baby pictures and compare them!"

"Excuse me," Kaito interrupted. "Who are you, and what baby pictures are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The man laughed and rubbed his bristly goatee. "Kurosaki Isshin. I run a local clinic. As for the pictures, don't you have a son too? I thought I heard some gossip about him running off to America with another man. You know, they don't allow gay marriage there. Shame, from what I saw, they would make a good couple, not unlike my Ichigo and his Uryuu-kun."

"Kurosaki, your son and mine are not involved in a homosexual relationship. Just because my son sews does not mean he's gay," Isshin snapped back, obviously rapidly losing his patience.

Kaito nodded, inwardly seething at this fool's words, although his stone face revealed nothing. "My son is not gay either, merely deluded, and I would appreciate you not insinuating otherwise."

Isshin blinked. "What? There's nothing wrong with it. Lighten up."

"Nakamura-san." Kaito wheeled around at the tap on his shoulder. A gaijin wearing horn-rimmed glasses blinked once in surprise at his reaction. "I apologize for my intrusion, but I was wondering why you were late for our meeting, and came looking for you."

Kaito sighed. "Bennet-san. Please forgive me, but the presentation ran longer than expected."

Isshin grinned with glee. "Another new friend, and one from America, if I'm right, and I usually am," he shouted. Isshin pulled out a wallet crammed full of pictures. "Do you have any children as well? These are my twin little girls, Karin and Yuzu - aren't they precious? - and my eldest son, Ichigo. Aren't they wonderful?"

Bennet blinked at the picture of a scowling teenage boy and turned to Kaito. "Is he always like this?"

"I have no idea. Ishida-sensei?"

"Yes, yes he is," Ryuuken sighed wearily, before blinking at the next picture. "Why do you have a picture of my son in your wallet?"

Isshin beamed even more brightly. "I have pictures of all of my son's friends! Well, maybe rival is a better term, in Ichigo and Uryuu-kun's case. Do you have any children, Bennet-san?"

Bennet nodded. "Yes, a son, Lyle, and a daughter, Claire. Claire would be about the same age as your sons, gentlemen, I would guess."

Isshin sighed gustily. "Ah, a hard time they have, don't they? Those teenage years... all of those lusty hormones... it's the springtime of their youth. Then, there's all of the secrets they keep from you."

"You should know more about that than your son," Ryuuken muttered.

Isshin arched an eyebrow in return. "And you don't? Keep secrets from Uryuu-kun, I mean?"

Ryuuken glared back at Isshin. "Wait until Ichigo-kun starts poking about in your life. I want to be there with a camera to take both of your pictures."

Bennet almost smiled. "It is indeed a shame when parents cannot be honest with their children."

Kaito almost started at that. "This is a change, Bennet-san. I was not aware that Claire-kun was aware of the full extent of your business. When did you change your mind? I will admit, from what I have heard about her, she will grow to be an asset for you, unlike my wastrel son. Hiro has such gifts, but his dreams make him useless."

The last sentence brought a small smile of remembrance to Ryuuken's face. "I have no interest, and you have no talent," he murmured.

"Excuse me?" Kaito asked, as the other three men turned to look at Ryuuken.

"I'm sorry, I was just remembering something I said to Uryuu on two occasions. What you said about Hiro-san brought that back to me. It is hard to make children face reality, isn't it? Someday, they must learn to face life as it is, and realize that foolish dreams will only destroy them if they continue to follow them."

Isshin looked as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. "Ishida, how can you say that? It is our sacred duty as fathers to nurture those dreams, so that our children can grow up and make this world a better place for us to grow old and die in."

"I must respectfully disagree, Kurosaki-sensei. Our duty is to show our children the proper path to take in life, as our parents did before us. Otherwise, what legacy do we truly leave them? Do we want them to live a life filled with uncertainty and doubt, or one filled with the knowledge that they are doing right and honoring their ancestors and their own children to come?" Kaito argued, his slow, careful words filling the hall.

Isshin shook his head. "Yes, but would you rather they live and be happy, or live and be miserable, only alive in the physical sense, because you killed their souls?"

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but you are both right," Bennet interrupted. "We should protect them while they are young and foolish. They're vulnerable at that point, even if they think that nothing can permanently harm them." He chuckled at what he said. "I know Claire certainly thinks that last bit. She's wrong, though, even though for the most part she's a wonderful child. They all are, and we have to show them that, but slowly. Let them be kids while they are. Of course, Hiro-san," he bowed to Kaito as he spoke, "should have learned by now, since he is grown up."

"He will face the consequences of his decisions," Kaito said grimly.

"They all will. Let us just hope that their choices don't prove fatal. Knowing my son, though... " Ryuuken added, a grim expression on his face as his voice trailed off.

Isshin slowly nodded in agreement. "But, we'll still have to deal with their choices as well. I guess that's what being a parent is about, after all - being there for our kids no matter what happens." Silence fell, as all four men pondered that. "Even if we have to put up with some whining afterwards, neh?" Isshin grinned widely.

Bennet grimaced. "That might be even worse than when they hurt themselves. They just don't understand why we do what we do, that we do it all because we care for them," he lamented. The other three nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Bennet's watch beeped. "Gentlemen, I apologize, but Nakamura-san and I do have an important meeting to attend. That was why I originally came here, after all."

"Ah, yes, our meeting. Gentlemen, this has been an unusual conversation, and perhaps enlightening. Ishida-sensei, please take my business card. I think I would prefer it if you contact me directly regarding your inquiries regarding my software." Kaito passed the card to Ryuuken, who looked at it intently before placing it into his wallet. "Kurosaki-sensei, Ishida-sensei, it was interesting meeting you."

"And you, Nakamura-san, Bennet-san. I hope your business ventures are successful," Ryuuken replied.

"Come see us soon! Perhaps we can have a big family get together, with all of our wonderful children there!" Isshin boomed, seemingly oblivious to the other three's winces. Ryuuken grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him down into a bow along with himself towards the other two men, who bowed back in return before leaving.

* * *

"You do realize that Ishida Ryuuken and Ishida Uryuu are on what little of the list we know about," Bennet murmured quietly to Kaito. 

"Yes, I do, as were some of the other children Kurosaki-sensei had pictures of in his wallet, based on my files. Since Ishida-sensei will be contacting Yamagoto soon regarding our software, we should be able to keep track of him quite easily. This was indeed a stroke of good fortune. I am more worried about his son, however. From what was said, he might be a dangerous variable in the long run that we will not be able to control."

"Mmm, too headstrong and stubborn, perhaps, since it sounds like he might be in the habit of risking his life on a regular basis, similar to the path Hiro-san seems to want to take. Perhaps you could continue to cultivate a relationship with the father, using your dreamer sons as a common bond."

"Perhaps. For now, let us continue on with our business elsewhere."

"But of course."

* * *

"Good job latching on to Nakamura-san like that, Ishida. Urahara needed to know more about him and his associate." Isshin's face grew intensely serious, completely at odds to his earlier self. 

Ryuuken shrugged slightly. "I really am quite interested in Yamagoto's software, after all. Anything that makes communication with patients easier will be a great help. Still, why did you bring up our children? You know that they have been keenly interested in Uryuu as well as some of his other friends. For once, that foolish quest they took to Hueco Mundo actually seems like a good idea. At least we have a good idea as to the threats they face there, even if their chances for survival are slim. With these men..." His voice trailed off.

Isshin sighed. "I'm lucky that Ichigo somehow managed to escape their notice, although with the way he throws his reiatsu around, I'm surprised their agents didn't notice. Both of them have no spirit sensing skills, however, so perhaps they simply went after the others instead, since they could actually see what they were doing when they were using their gifts, unlike Ichigo. Still, I don't trust that luck to hold. That's why I brought up the kids - it was the only common bond I could think of to talk about. Hopefully, that won't endanger them too much. I'll pass on what little we got to Urahara and Yoruichi - they'll see what they can get, and let us know."

"In the meantime, please suggest to Urahara-san that perhaps, if our foes are looking for our children, perhaps we should look to their own as to the reason why?"

"I will. I'm going over to Urahara's store now - if I hear anything about the kids' mission, I'll let you know." With that, the men went their separate ways.


End file.
